More Chicago office brokers on the move

Two Chicago office tenant brokers known for large headquarters leases, including Sara Lee's move out of the city and its eventual return, have joined Newmark Grubb Knight Frank.

Bob Chodos, 60, and Steve Levitas, 47, said they moved to the Chicago office of the New York-based brokerage after 11 years at Seattle-based Colliers International, where they were principals. They have worked as a team for 19 years and moved together to Colliers from Chicago-based developer John Buck in 2005.

Their move follows an active year of leasing and property sales in 2015, as well as mergers and acquisitions in the commercial real estate business.

“There's been a lot of leasing activity and it's also been a time of consolidation in the industry,” Chodos said. “Newmark is very acquisitive and has been adding big teams in a lot of markets. Chicago is a key market for them to expand and develop, and I think they view a selection of a team like ours as a step in building that.

“I always ask, 'Is the view worth the climb?' I felt this was going to be an exciting opportunity, so I decided to take advantage of it.”

Chodos and Levitas have represented several law firms in large leases, including a 225,000-square-foot deal by McDermott Will & Emery to anchor the 52-story River Point tower under construction at 444 W. Lake St.

They also represented Jenner & Block and Mesirow Financial in a combined 760,000 square feet of leases in the 47-story tower at 353 N. Clark St. Mesirow also was a developer of the project, which was completed in 2009.

Other clients have included Nuveen Investments and law firms Schiff Hardin and McGuireWoods.

The pair represented Sara Lee when it moved its headquarters from downtown Chicago to 441,000 square feet in Downers Grove in 2005, and again when Sara Lee spinoff Hillshire Brands returned to the city in 2012, to 400 S. Jefferson St.

Chodos is an executive vice chairman at NGKF and Levitas is a vice chairman. NGKF now has 67 Chicago-area brokers, including 30 in office tenant and landlord representation, the company said.

“Steve and Bob will become a catalyst for our commitment to further expand in the coming year,” Michael Sheinkop, NGKF's president of brokerage services, said in a statement. “Together, their expertise locally will also benefit our national pursuits as NGKF continues to represent multimarket accounts.”